Sewing machine attachment



Jan. 11, 1955 Filed June 13, 1951 J. M. POLIKOFF SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY United States PatentO SEWING MACHINE ATTACHMENT Jack M. Polikofl, Brooklyn, N. Y.

Application June13, 1951-,- Serial No. 231,324

Claims. (Cl. 1l2-227) This invention relates to a sewing machine attachment, and more particularly tothat class of attachments used for stitching braid, cord, piping or other applique to a surface material, for instance on shoes for ornamental purposes.

Difliculty has been experienced with previously marketed attachments in maintaining the stitching parallel to or evenly spaced from the sideedges of the braid or the like being stitched. Broadly, thepresent invention'resides in the discovery of the cause of the difiiculty and in'the effectual remedy therefor.

The invention has for its principal object the enforced location of the needle with respect to the Work.

Another object of the invention is to. provide for elimination of undesired vibration in and deflect-ion of the needle as the needle approaches its work-piercing position.

A further object of the invention is to afford for precision adjustment of the attachment with rcspectto the sewing-machine needle.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a rigid construction without adding tointerference in viewing the work by the operator.

Still further objects of the invention will appear to persons skilled in the art to which it appertains,-both by direct recitation thereof and by implication from the context as the description proceeds;

Referring to the accompanying drawings in which like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a sewing machine to which my invention has been applied;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a piece of work stitched by use of the machine of Fig. l;

Figure 3 is a sectional view in the plane of the needle and feed dog, showing the presser foot in side elevation;

Figure 4 is a sectional plan on line IV-IVof Fig. 3, showing the attachment in its position during stitching operations;

Figure 5 is a section corresponding to Fig. 4 and showing the attachment swung to a position away from the needle for such purposes as replacing or rethreading the needle;

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view on line VIVI of Fig. 3;

Figures 7, 8, 9 and 10 are respectively a front elevation, a side elevation, an underneath plan and a top sectional plan of the presser foot;

Figure 11 is a detail vertical sectional view on a plane longitudinally of the needle and transverse to the feed dog, and showing work being stitched and functioning of the invention in guiding the needle to the work; and

Figure 12 is a vertical section in the plane of the feed dog and needle showing the relationship of the work to the feed dog and presser foot in operation.

In the specific embodiment of the invention illustrated in said drawings, the reference numeral 15 designates the table or bed portion of a sewing machine having the usual goose-neck 16 thereabove for mounting a needle bar 17 therein to reciprocate vertically above the bed and to carry a needle 18 at its lower end for stitching purposes as usual. A feed dog 19 is shown projecting slightly above the top surface of table or bed 15 closely adjacent to the path of the needle which may enter a hole 20 in the bed next to the inside face of the feed dog. The feed dog here shown is of the cylindrical or wider than the front.

2,699,132 Patented Jan. 11, 1955 2. rotary type, advancing the work 21 continuously during operation. of the machine.

Theworkhere shown comprises a more or less flat surface material 22,.for instance such as may be used in manufacture of fancy shoes and slippers, on which is to be stitched by the machine of the present invention,

scrolls or other designs in applique, of braid, cord, piping or the like 23 according to some definite pattern or in accordance with artistic conception of the operator.

Thework is held against and fed forwardly by contact withthe feed dog, and this contact is maintained by a presser foot 24 constituting the essential feature of the present invention. The presser foot comprises a sole portion 25 the under face of which makes contact with the work and is constructed with minimum under area so as to facilitate twisting the work around on the bed at will to create the desired designs of applique. A leg or shank 26 extends upwardly from the sole and slopes in a direction away from theoperator, and carried at its upper end by a mounting mechanism 27 by the lower end of a spring-loaded vertically liftable presser-foot bar 28 in goose-neck 16.

The mounting mechanism 27 is constructed not only to hold the presser foot in precise relation to the needle during stitching operation, but to also afford easy access to the needle for replacement or threading thereof. As here shown, said munting mechanism comprises a collar 29 fixed, as by set-screw 30, on bar 28 an appropriate distance above the lower end thereof. A sleeve 31 is mounted on said bar below the collar and is forcibly pushed upward toward the collar by a spring 32 interposed between a downwardly facing shoulder 33 of the collar and a peripheral flange or head 34 terminating the lower end of said bar. A stop, here shown as a screw 35, projects laterally from the bar into an arcuate slot 36 in the sleeve, said slot having an arcuate length subtending a angle to afford a 90 swing of the sleeve and foot, and having a dimension longitudinally of the bar adequate to afford the desired sliding movement of the; sleeve on the said bar. A notch and tooth interlocking of the collar with respect to the sleeve is arranged by positioning a tooth 37 radially at the under side of the collar and providing a corresponding notch 38 in the upper face of the sleeve, both being correspondingly tapered so as to obtain precise and non-rotatable engage ment under influence of the pressure of spring 32. When desired to rotate the sleeve, it may be depressed until its notch is free of the tooth, and then rotated, the amount of depression and rotation being limited by the aforementioned arcuate slot and stop therein. The upper end' of presser-foot shank 26 is secured at a flattened side of sleeve 31'between two'horizontal ribs 39 by a screw 40.

The sole portion 25 of presser foot 24 is provided with a needle-hole 41 next its edge remote from shank 26, said hole being larger than the diameter of the needle and somewhat elongated in a direction of travel of the work. Toward the front of the machine, said sole portion 25 has another hole 42 therein for passage of the braid or other applique material therethrough to the underside of said sole portion. This last-mentioned hole 42 preferably slopes downwardly toward the needle hole 41 so as to be closer to the needle hole at the under side of the sole than at the top thereof. The under side of the sole is preferably provided with a groove 43 extending from the braid hole 42, traverses the lower end of the needle hole 41, and then flares laterally to accommodate twist ing of the material on the machine to create bends in the design of applique.

At the upper side of sole portion 25 is provided a means 44 to guide and steady the needle. This means is a strap metal angular member with a basal portion adapted to rest flatwise on the top of the presser-foot sole portion, and provided with an upstanding portion adapted to be juxtaposed against a lower part of the presser-foot shank 26, said portions being identified by reference numerals 45 and 46 respectively. The edge 47 of the basal portion remote from the upstanding portion slopes in two directions, one of these slopes being such that said edge diverges in a horizontal direction from front to back so that the rear of said basal portion is By moving the member more or less to the front or to the rear of the presser foot sole, said sloping edge, where passing the needle hole, will overlap that hole more or less, thus affording a desired adjustment.

The other slope given to said edge 47 of the basal portion 45 of member 44, is in a downward outward direction away from the upstanding portion, so that the sloping edge looks diagonally upward from the foot toward the needle. The purpose of this slope is that the needle, as it descends will engage against some part of the sloping edge, so that as the needle passes below the foot sole it will be in lateral sliding engagement with the said sloping edge of said member. Such engagement of the needle both guides and steadies it, and in operation of the machine the needle will always have the precise relationship to the needle hole of the foot each time it passes thereinto and consequently the line of stitching in the braid or the like will be evenly spaced from the side edge of the braid.

The upstanding portion 46 of member 44 is provided with a horizontal slot 48 a marginal portion of the edge of which is overlapped by the head of a screw 49 threaded into the juxtaposed shank 26 for holding the member in its adjusted position. This adjustment makes it possible to deflect the needle within the limits of the needle hole as much or as little as desired and thereby alter the spacing of the line of stitching from the edge of the braid correspondingly. Thus the line of stitching may be centralized on the braid or run closer to either edge thereof as desired. In any event, due to the guiding and steadying of the needle by said edge 47 of member 44, whatever spacing of the line of stitching is selected, will be maintained during operation of the machine until change of adjustment is deliberately made.

I claim:

1. A sewing machine attachment comprising a foot having a sole portion and a shank portion angularly disposed to each other, said sole portion having a needle hole therein, and a member having angularity corresponding to that of said foot portions, said member nesting in the angularity of said sole and shank portions engaging both of said portions, said member having an under face juxtaposed to said sole portion and extending from the shank portion and providing an outer edge spaced from said shank portion, said edge having lengthwise divergence from the shank portion with opposite ends of said edge spaced from the shank portion greater and less distances respectively than the spacing of the needle hole from the shank portion, and means for adjusting said member on said sole portion to project more or less over said needle hole where engaging with said sole portion.

2. A sewing machine attachment comprising a foot having a sole portion and a shank portion angularly disposed to each other, said sole portion having a needle hole therein, and a member having angularity corresponding to that of said foot portions and having an edge face spaced outwardly from said shank portion, said edge having lengthwise divergence from the shank portion with opposite ends of said edge spaced from the shank portion greater and less distances respectively than the spacing of the needle hole from the shank portion, said edge face sloping upwardly from said sole portion and needle hole thereof.

3. A sewing machine attachment comprising a foot having a sole portion and a shank portion angularly disposed to each other, said sole portion having a needle hole therein, and a member having angularity corresponding to that of said foot portions and having an edge remote from the shank portion and having lengthwise divergence from the shank portion with opposite ends of said edge spaced from said shank portion greater and less distances respectively than spacing of said hole from the shank portion whereby an intermediate portion of said edge has spacing from the shank portion equal to said spacing of the hole therefrom and whereby said edge is adapted to lie tangentially to the said hole.

4. A sewing machine attachment comprising a foot having a sole portion and a shank portion angularly disposed to each other, said sole portion having a needle hole therein, and a member having angularity corresponding to that of said foot portions and having an edge face sloping upwardly from said hole portion and having lengthwise divergence from the shank portion with opposite ends of said edge spaced from said shank portion greater and less distances respectively than spacing of said hole from the shank portion whereby an intermediate portion of said edge has spacing from the shank portion equal to said spacing of the hole therefrom and whereby said edge is adapted to lie tangentially to the said hole.

5. A sewing machine attachment comprising a foot having a sole portion and a shank portion angularly disposed to each other, said sole portion having a needle hole therein, and a member having angularity corresponding to that of said foot portions and having an edge face sloping upwardly from said sole portion and having lengthwise divergence from the shank portion with opposite ends of said edge spaced from said shank portion greater and less distances respectively than spacing of said hole from the shank portion whereby an intermediate portion of said edge has spacing from the shank portion equal to said spacing of the hole therefrom and whereby said edge is adapted to lie tangentially to the said hole, and means for adjusting said member to position said sloping and diverging edge face with respect to tangential proximity thereof to the said hole.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 983,343 Bayer Feb. 7, 1911 1,387,094 Barrow Aug. 9, 1921 2,156,535 Kucera May 2, 1939 2,305,888 Masler Dec. 22, 1942 

